Eat and Read Literacy Project

Eat and Read Literacy Project creates a culture of literacy in the restaurant industry by hosting author events and putting books in the hands of everywhere people. 

A restaurant engages with people ( staff and customers alike) who are everywhere within their life’s journey. Eat and Read sways the eyes toward literacy and builds a community of lifelong learners. 

Eat and Read redefines where a book can engage with a person’s mind by facilitating book events for restaurant personnel and customers in a network of community-based restaurants across Louisiana. Eat and Read is not a book club. We engage with the transformative ideas of our generation and invite professors and thought leaders to bring their research and artistry from the ivory tower to the community kitchen.

Eat and Read seeks to inspire a love of reading in communities neglected by the publishing industry and educational systems. In Louisiana, we are experiencing a literacy crisis with over 40% of children reading below grade level and 1 in 4 adults functionally illiterate. People in Louisiana want to read. Every adult literacy program in New Orleans has a wait list. Eat and Read brings literacy to the people by putting books in their hands and introducing authors to communities. Each new reader inspires a family and transforms our communities one book at a time.  

NOTE: The site we use for donations has a $6,000 limit for ACH (bank transfer) transactions only.  You can choose to make several transactions or use other payment methods for donations over $6,000.